I have finished the 3rd CCNA: Scaling Networks course and that leaves me with 1 more to go. Also, I took the ICND1 certification test during this time period. So this post will be a 2-in-1 post special. So first, let me tell you the Scaling Networks course that I took at Palomar College, San Diego. It’s tough! In the first 8 weeks of spring semester, Palomar College offers Cisco network class for about $150. I took the other two courses (Introduction to Networks and Routing and Switching Essentials) and I have to say that the coursework is a bit tougher. One thing that I felt that the course is a bit faster and if you need to read a bit more. Sometimes, Continue reading

I was unemployed for so long, that I had an idea to just get a certification while I kept sending my resumes to many companies. I chose the Comptia A+ as I thought I could easily get the certification in less than 2 months. The goal was to study the 220-901 information for 4 weeks and take the test in January. Then, study the 220-902 objectives for 3 weeks and take the test in February. The goal was to get a score around 800 of 900, use free Android apps, and see what good websites that offers free or cheap online training. At the end, it was doable. So, let me tell you what free training I choose to get my certification. Cybrary is a good place for free Continue reading

Another semester (8 weeks course) and it was great. The Cisco Routing & Switching Essentials course was a bit tougher than the Introduction to Networks course. I used the third edition book (eBay was like $15), but I believe that the 4th edition had new content that I needed for the last quizzes. For example, the third edition had 11 chapters and only 9 chapters were covered in this course. The 4th edition have 10 chapters and one of those chapters have new material not found on the third edition. I still believe you can use the previous edition to pass this class, as the online materials goes in to good details. If you don’t believe me, then buy the Continue reading

It was not long ago that I looked at the packet tracer online course that was offer at Cisco Network Academy for free. I think it was a good introduction to see how networking works in the small working environment, but I felt that it was lacking core skills. Well, I took CCNA R&S: Introduction to Networks and I have to say that I like it. I mean, I like it a lot. The problem for people who takes this course is that you need to take this course at a real location and the cost is determine by the institution. At my local community college, it cost $50 a unit; therefore, this 3 unit program cost about $150. However, if you add the one textbook, school Continue reading

Recently I did a phone interview that did not go well. To be fair, I did not study the basics for networking pretty well, but I should at least brush up my networking skills. For instance, the job I was applying involved security and expensive software that detects intrusion. Of course I did my homework and did research on the company and the software that they used. I also went back and grab some old college books that linked to Windows Server 2012 and CentOS. However, the phone interview questions were the simple questions as what OSI model layer do you find the network cable. I said 7, but realized after that I had everything upside down (7 was 1 and 1 Continue reading